


There Never Was a Better Bargain Driven.

by LarkandLioness



Category: Shades of London Series - Maureen Johnson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Anger, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Romance, Awkwardness, Bargaining, Based on a Tumblr Post, Crying, Cute Ending, Dealfic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, England (Country), F/M, Fights, Fluffy Ending, Grocery Shopping, Hugs, Ice Cream, London, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Out of Character, POV First Person, Sad with a Happy Ending, Scene Gone Wrong, Strangers, Tags Contain Spoilers, Tumblr Prompt, Tumblr: otpprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-07 00:58:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18862504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LarkandLioness/pseuds/LarkandLioness
Summary: "Hey, that's mine!" I yelled. And so what if the Ice Cream Snatcher was cute, in a nerdy kind of way? After the day I'd had...





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> "You gave me your number to get the last carton of ice cream on the shelf."
> 
> Somehow this Tumblr prompt ballooned in size. Around four chapters for something so simple. I don't know what happened.

I slammed the door to our dorm room behind me and pitched my backpack across the room. I ignored the heavy thuds and soft thump behind me as I went to the kitchen. I threw the cupboard doors open, and froze in shock. I saw nothing. I opened the fridge, and gazed into a void!

I didn't bother to take off my school uniform. I grabbed my money, scrawled a note to Jazza, my roomate, and stormed out again.  
"There's no cheese in our room, no meat, and no chocolate, can you believe..?!" I thought as I stomped up and down the aisles in my Frankenstein boots.

I scanned the shelves frantically. At last, I saw it. I felt my eyes widen and they must have lit up as they locked on my prize. I felt my mouth stretch into a grin.

It was a large carton of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream!  
It was the last one, and it was all mine. It lay on a shelf just above me. I rose up on tip-toe...  
However, just as it was within my grasp, a pair of pale, slender hands lifted it away from me.  
"HEY, THAT'S MINE!" I whirled around to see a tall guy with glasses behind me.  
And so what if the Ice Cream Snatcher was kind of cute? (in a nerdy sort of way). He looked at me with wide-eyes, and I suddenly thought how horrible I must look. 

I considered jumping up to reach the container, but he seemed to guess this. He stiffened as he took it out, took a step back, and held the carton close to his chest. Lower now, but still out of reach. My brain said: if you climb up now, he'll shake you off to your death!  
Thanks, brain! I thought sarcastically. 

The guy loudly cleared his throat and swallowed hard. His pale face turned red when I looked at him. "I'm terribly sorry!" He said in a surprisingly deep voice. I froze. He hunched over a little. "I'm terribly sorry!" He said again. He sounded so embarrassed that just for a minute, I considered letting go of the carton, and walking away. Of going back to Wexford. But back to what? A picture flashed in my mind. Wexford's. common room, filled with diligent, and successful students to get back to my room. Versus my cold, empty room, full of homework. 

I yearned for slow Southern voices and stories. For heat so thick it was like walking through syrup. I wanted to see my house again, and my friends, and my crazy relatives. 

After the day I've had...

Something hot and tight welled up in my chest, and I didn't know if I was going to start yelling or crying. For a second, my self-control tethered on the edge, before I let out an uncontrollable sob.  



	2. Chapter 2

He quickly stepped towards me, arms held out a bit stiffly, but the invitation was clear. I didn't hesitate. I buried my face into the crook of his arm, and cried.  
When I had almost completely calmed down, I felt a slightly cold hand rest on the back of my head. Then long fingers began to card through the rat's nest that was my hair, and try to smooth out my weird knots and clumps of hair I had. There was no time for hair care this morning, I remembered, but I couldn't get too panicked, even with a stranger's hand buried in my hair. The motion was too soothing, warm, and gentle.

We stayed like that a few more seconds, before I turned my head and noticed his sleeve was wet. We broke apart. He looked down, either out of embarrassment, or to give me privacy. "Are you all right?" He asked quietly. I nodded, and said "Yes." 

He gave a stiff nod, and took a few steps away. Then, things happened quickly.  
"Wait!" I called out.  
"Do you want me to --?" He'd stopped and turned back at the same time.  
"Wait, what?" I asked.  
"I'm sorry, you're...?" He stopped and bowed his head shyly. His eyes darted from the floor to me.  
We paused awkwardly. "What's your name?" I asked him.  
"Stephen. Stephen Dene."  
"Well Stephen, I'm Rory." I didn't want him to leave. "C--can you come walk with me?" I asked, and immediately blurted out "We should stay together!"  
He blinked, surprised. "I, er...alright, sure. If that's what you want."  
"It's what I want." I confirmed as I stepped beside him. "Come on, I think I saw a few things I needed this way!"  


I splurged on tons of hair care products. I needed them, and I had the cash now.  
"Where are you from, anyway?"  
"Bénouville, Louisiana. Population 1, 700."   
"Oh, do you speak French?" He asked in French.  
"Oui." I fumbled. "A little."  


At some point, I'd reached out and grabbed his hand, and hadn't realized it until my arms were almost full of things.  
Stephen raised an eyebrow at me. "Why not take a cart?" He asked.  
I decided to forget about the ice cream, and launched into my story.


	3. 03.

I launched into my story about the time I saw a girl in the parking lot ram into a little old lady with her shopping cart, (complete with wild hand gestures that almost smacked Stephen in the face -- accidentally).

It was a long, dramatic tale, and I was so focused on telling it right, that I almost didn't notice we were leaving until the wind whipped my hair back, and the smell of freshly fallen rain hit my nose. "Funny, we didn't seem to be in there long enough for it to rain." I said without thinking. 

"This is England," Stephen said. "It rains constantly." 

My face heated up for no reason as I realized he overheard me. I slowed down to put some distance between us again, and looked down for puddles. 

Stephen abruptly stopped and turned back towards me so fast, I had to skid to a stop inches from him. "Where are you going?" He asked. 

"What?" 

He adjusted his glasses. "What -- what I mean is, do you live nearby, or...?" He trailed off as he looked at me with an inquisitive gaze. 

Oh. I stopped dead in the middle of the lot. I felt a stab of panic in my chest. "I, uh --" I looked at a puddle by my feet. A fresh wave of embarrassment washed over me. "I was so upset, I don't remember how I got here." I admitted as I gave Stephen a guilty smile. 

He sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. 

I panicked and worked a hand free from my bags. Then, for a harrowing second, I fumbled in my pocket. "Got it!" I cried joyfully as I clutched my token. "I can't pull it out, but I got it!" 

Stephen simply stared. 

Once we were on the Tube, we didn't say much. Just as I started to get tired, I noticed Stephen look at me from the corner of his eye. "Do you want me to carry those?" He asked softly in French as he nodded to my bags. I nodded, and looked around at the posters on the walls, the people on the Tube, anything really. I tried to think of what I'd do when I got back to Wexford. I drew a blank. My mind spun. Stephen pulled me out of my thoughts by gently nudging me. "Rory, I think...isn't this your stop?"  
It was.  
"Yeah!" I said in English. "Thanks," Stephen handed my bags back. "So I um, I guess I'll see you later?" I asked, unsure about it. At Wexford, you either saw each other constantly, or were complete strangers. I didn't know if the rest of England was like that, but if graduates from Wexford influenced the whole country... 

Stephen interrupted my thoughts, just as I tried to dismiss them. "You can always reach me," He said "If you need me." I thought I saw a faint smile on his face, but it was hard to tell as the doors closed behind me. 

The Tube pulled away from me, and I slowly walked back to my room at Wexford, where I unpacked the bags. 

I looked down, stunned at what I saw. The tub of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream lay at the bottom of the very last one...  
I grinned.  
A phone number was hidden along with it! A message was written beneath it. "Call anytime, day or night, whenever you want to talk to someone. I'll be happy to listen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the start of a beautiful relationship!

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "The Bargain." By Sir Philip Sidney.
> 
> Also, I just wanted to add that, although it never comes up or adds anything to the story, Stephen and Rory meet as completely ordinary people live in a mundane London without ghosts, cults based on Greek...What's the word? 
> 
> Whatever, normal (but really young) police officer meets schoolgirl. Enjoy!


End file.
